Stella doesn't think 'elbows out' approach belongs in F1: 'Should be within the rules'
19:00, 22 Apr 2025
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In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, there was yet another incident involving a McLaren driver and Max Verstappen. Andrea Stella claims his drivers fight hard, but fair, and suggests the style often attributed to drivers like Verstappen is not.
When asked if Oscar Piastri had the poise to remain calm under pressure, the Italian team principal then criticised the style of racing by which drivers like Max Verstappen is known.
"Well, the all elbows out is a metaphor which I think works very well when we have to create a narrative, like for an article," said Stella after the F1 race in Jeddah to media, including GPblog.
'Elbows out driving style, not the right approach when preparing drivers'
"And fair enough, even myself as a Formula One fan would like to read an article with elbows out," he added. But, that's not the way drivers should be prepared to fight, in his opinion.
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"But this kind of narrative, when we come to actually programming drivers in terms of their mindset, the approach of the team, that's not how you look at things. You want to race within the regulations, you want to race in a clear way, you want to race maximising what you have available."
'Elbows out fighting approach should have no part in F1 racing'
What's the point in preparing a race weekend then, if a driver is prepared to throw it all away 'just to be right', in a the midst of a heated wheel-to-wheel battle, is Stella's reasoning, and outlines the main target his drivers have when battling.
"We always say when we discuss our objectives before the race, we want to see the chequered flag. There's no point in being right and not seeing the chequered flag. So that's the way we go racing."
"I think we race in a very fair way. And the elbows out, like I said, is a narrative that is not part of our internal conversations, nor do I think it should be part of the way the drivers go racing. It's tough, like I said before, it's tough racing. But it needs to be fair racing and within the regulations."
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